Non-profit baker Kendall Spink (‘22) has turned her dedication to community work to mask making during this pandemic.

“I started making masks when the order came out that everyone had to wear them outside,” Spink said. “I made some for my family for when they had to go out somewhere, and then I had a few extra, so I left them out so a few delivery people could grab them if they needed them. Recently, the Michigan government announced that construction workers could return to work. Since my dad owns an electrical business, I’ve been making masks for all of his contractors.”

Spink said that the process is actually much simpler than most people would expect, and it’s a great way to keep herself busy under lockdown.

“I asked my family to look through their clothes for old, 100% cotton shirts that they don’t wear anymore,” she said. “The CDC is recommending 100% cotton for masks right now, so it had to be. Then I looked up a pattern with different sizes online and just sewed them.”

It doesn’t just keep her busy, though. As the virus hits many people close to home, it’s helped Spink to know that she’s doing something for her community.

“Our routines and everyday lives have changed so much because of the virus, but it’s also given me the opportunity to reach out and help others,” she said. “Some friends I have outside of  Chelsea’s whole family got it, and we were really lucky that they were all okay in the end. And dad was excited to go back to work, but they’re being careful. Really the community is being really careful and rallying around keeping everyone safe.”

This isn’t Spink’s first time working to help keep local communities safe. Her experience with charity work like this goes back to when she was a kid.

“When I was really young, my friends and I would try to do volunteering stuff every month just to do it,” she said. “I actually have a non-profit online bakery that makes different community baked goods for any group that needs help. Last year I supplied food for the Mini-VictorThon.”

Not many people have the drive to improve the world the way that she does. According to Spink, this kind of volunteering doesn’t just benefit the people she’s helping—she’s had a great experience herself with this work.

“It’s really important finding something you can do in a world where there isn’t necessarily a lot of opportunity for you to make your own change, and I feel like doing whatever I can to help others really helps me find that,” she said.